See the evolving museum exhibits building featuring maritime history of Chesapeake watermen, their vessels and local history.

Currently on display are the exhibits: “What is a Deadrise?”, “Boat Builders Shop”, “Restoration of the F.D. Crockett”, ”John Smith on the Chesapeake” and “Family Boatbuilding Week”. Also a new exhibit featuring Fishing Bay Yacht Club as well as an oyster boat exhibit, drawings by Ray Rodgers and a lighthouse exhibit.

The Museum is a Bay Gateway and on the “John Smith Trail” and is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m., and noon to 4 p.m. Sun.

See the F. D. Crockett, a 64’ log-bottom buyboat, on the Museum’s pierwalk, along with the Explorer, a 31’ museum built reproduction of the shallop John Smith used in 1608 to explore and map the Chesapeake Bay.

Also on the grounds find the Holly Point Nature Park, open daily, dawn to dusk. In the park are picnic tables, a sculpture garden, kayak landing, children’s garden and walking trails.

On fourth Sat. from Apr.–Nov., Visit the Holly Point Markets, free creek cruises, and in the evenings, a Groovin’ in the Park outdoor concert through Sept.

The Middlesex County Museum & Historical Society, one of the oldest county museums in Virginia, has hundreds of artifacts, photographs, and memorabilia illustrating our rich history.

Newest on display, a country store exhibit highlights the history of these centers of commerce and cultural hubs within the county. With over 70 different stores documented, the exhibit displays the many names, stories, and artifacts associated with them. There is a wall sized map of the county showing store locations. Focal points of the exhibit are artifacts from Samos, Callis, Payne, and Bristow Country Stores.

The museum has an expansive military exhibit. On display is a trench coat belonging to Lt. Gen. Chesty Puller that enlarges the extensive collection of his memorabilia. A dress uniform belonging to First Lieutenant Beryl Newman and many of his documents and personal photographs are on display. Newman was the recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor on January 15, 1945. The bridge entering the town of Urbanna is named after him. Memorabilia from George A. Taylor, an original member of the segregated Army Air Force unit, is also included in the exhibit. Taylor was awarded two Bronze Stars, an Air Medal and four battle stars plus the Congressional Medal of Honor in 2007.

Another exhibit highlighting African American history in the county documents the Middlesex Training School, later known as St. Clare Walker High School. Other achievements of local churches, early African American educators, and the life of John Henry St. Clare Walker are included.

The museum also honors Irene Morgan with an exhibit. Morgan was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal in 2001 and the NAACP’s Oliver W. Hill Freedom Fighter Award in 2002. Ms. Morgan led the way for Rosa Parks with the landmark ruling by the United States Supreme Court that struck down segregation on interstate transit in 1946.

Additional exhibits relate to fossils, the 1920s social scene, Virginia Governor Andrew Jackson Montague (1902-1906), the Kentucky Derby winner Exterminator, local history, children and resource books related to local history and genealogy.

Open Thurs.- Sat. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. throughout the summer and Saturdays from Sept. 7 to Memorial Day. Contact the museum to arrange other times by visiting the website or email middlesexmuseum@va.metrocast.net.

The restored James Mill Scottish Factor Store or “Old Tobacco Warehouse” is used as the Urbanna Town Visitor Center. For years, it was thought to have been used to store hogsheads of tobacco. In 1958, The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities sponsored a study of the building. Historian Wesley Newton Laing’s research revealed that the structure was not a warehouse but, rather, a Scottish Colonial merchant factor store, where tobacco could be traded for finished goods from Europe.

The museum also features an 18th century John Mitchell Map a primary map source used during the Treaty of Paris for defining the boundaries of the newly independent United States. John Mitchell once lived in Urbanna.